Live
by Epershand
Summary: The night of Lily and James' untimely demise in Godric's Hollow from a different view.


Disclaimer: Same 'ol, same 'ol. I do not own Harry Potter, he is owned solely by the brilliant J.K. Rowling and whatever publishing company lays claim to him. I'm a college student, I have no money, please don't sue. Enjoy reading ). The title was inspired by a Celine Dion song, "Live" off her album, "All the Way, A Decade of Song." Look up the lyrics, they are phenomenal.

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**Live**

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The lights and laughter of Godric's Hollow drifted into the windows of the cottage. Halloween was taking place all around, yet there was no celebration in the hidden house. time. This year would be a different breed of Halloween, Lily had sensed that. The house was decorated haphazardly in paper garland strands of pumpkins, bats, and brooms; a sad reminder of the times. Lily had perched herself cozily on the sofa, there she watched James play with baby Harry on the rug. To keep the spirit of Halloween alive, they had dressed Harry up in a little pumpkin costume. Lily smiled lovingly at them.

'God, I hope this reign of terror passes soon.' She prayed silently.

"Lily...?" James asked. "Are you okay?" He stood up and pulled her into a hug. "What's wrong?"

"I just want things to be like they used to be..." Lily sighed and buried her head in James' chest. "I hate this hiding and I miss everyone terribly."

"Me too, Lily, me too." James said hugging her tighter. He leaned in to kiss her, but Harry had other ideas, because he began to fuss at that moment.

"We have to teach him about timing..." Lily trailed off.

James chuckled as he scooped Harry into a hug.

Lily resumed staring out the window longingly. All the stars twinkled at her brightly from the heavens. They reminded her of when she still went to Hogwarts, and how her and the rest of the marauders had snuck out at night to see the stars...

* * *

The hallways of Hogwarts were dark and silent at this hour of the night as always---

CRASH!!!!!!

Well, they were silent. A painting had fallen off the wall and crashed onto the floor. All by itself, or so it seemed.

"Really, Sirius, we can't take you anywhere!" Lily groaned.

"Well, we're not all exactly first years anymore, are we?" Sirius snapped back.

"Just shush! I think I hear Filch…" Remus trailed off.

Quickly, and without destroying anymore of Hogwarts precious artifacts, the group of friends scurried through the front doors and down to the lake. James pulled off the invisibility cloak and instantly everyone breathed a sigh of relief at having personal space once again. James leaned against the large oak tree, Lily took her place by his side. The stars shone brightly and winked in secret mirth at the four friends.

"Where has Peter been running off to?" Lily inquiried.

"I'm not sure, but he seems very secretive, and everytime I ask him about it he turns about twenty shades of red." Remus said.

"I know what's going on," Sirius quipped, "Scabbers has himself a girlfriend!"

The four laughed lightheartedly and the subject blew away with the gentle breeze of the night.

James sighed, "Tomorrow is the big day. The culmination of our careers here at Hogwarts." He sounded forlon and lost.

Sirius folded his hands behind his head and laid back on the soft spring grass. "It doesn't seem like it's been seven years. Seven years already!" He sat up quickly and his face lit up, "Hey, James! Remember that time we levitated Snivellus in the air and everyone got a good look at his knickers!"

James chuckled, as did Remus, but both were silenced by Lily's stony gaze. Sirius was the only one who dared speak.

"Aww, c'mon, Lil. He's a greasy git."

"He is not, he used to be my best friend until…"

"Until he called you the M-blood word." Sirius finished.

"Which he would not have done had you not provoked him." Lily shot back. She sighed a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry, Sirius, you didn't make him say what he said. He's changed since we were children. You didn't make him change. He just got in with the wrong crowd."

Sirius shrugged, he didn't take much to heart, "No offense taken." And he smiled brightly.

"You're awfully quiet, Remus." James noted.

Remus seemed to be woken from his daze, he averted his eyes to the grass and began to pick at it nervously. "I'm just worried about what life will be like for me after Hogwarts. No one wants to hire a-," He paused mid sentence nervously glancing at the Whomping Willow as though he couldn't bear to recognize his condition anymore than he already had. "Well, no one wants to hire someone like me… I doubt I would receive a proper welcome into the wizarding workforce." He resumed picking at the grass.

Sirius clapped Remus on the back, "Nonsense, buddy! I'm sure there are plenty of Ministry positions for Guard Wolf!" He burst into laughter and Remus' face went a bit paler. Sirius took note of his friend's discomfort, "Honestly, Rem, you'll be just fine. It's not like you have Werewolf stamped on your forehead. We'll all be fine."

Lily smiled sadly at Sirius and gazed at James. His messy hair, lopsided glasses (she had sworn his ears were crooked, to his great dismay), and warm chocolate eyes. This was the man she had fallen in love with, she smiled and buried her face deeper into the soft fabric of his shirt. He responded with a soft kiss to her forehead. The sky was getting lighter now as dawn approached and the stars seemed to be recoiling into their own brightness.

"We'd better get back into bed, I'd like to stay away during the ceremony tomorrow." Lily said.

The other three nodded in agreement. They huddled together and James swung the cloak around them, instantly shielding them from the atrocities of the world.

* * *

That night of happiness seemed eons away from where Lily was now. She smiled sadly at James and knew he understood. They both longed for the carefree days of their youth, youth, how simple it was and yet how far removed from it they both felt at 21. Harry was a constant source of that innocence. He was born into a time in which he was too young to comprehend and thus fear did not lurk behind each of his smiles. Harry cooed and grabbed playfully at his pumpkin hat. Lily moved from her position on the couch to the floor with Harry and James. She smiled and made silly faces as Harry giggled. This was their home, and they were completely comfortable in it. Their wands lay lazily on the couch behind them.

The sound of footsteps cut through the air like a thick knife. No trick or treaters would be able to see their home. Lily and James exchanged looks of alarm, before they could react a bright green light shot through the keyhole.

James scooped Harry up in his arms and practically threw him to Lily. "Lily! Run! It's him! He's here! GO!" Lily was hesitant for a moment. "GO!" James shouted again.

Lily fled up the stairs. She heard the confrontation playing out in the living room, James pleading for Harry's life, Voldemort retorting and then cursing. A blinding green light illuminated the stairwell. The living room was silent except for a dull thud and the swish of Voldemort's cloak. Tears began to pour out of her eyes and down her cheeks, landing on Harry. "James..." She sobbed as she ran up the rest of the stairs. She looked around frantically, and then headed for Harry's nursery. She ran in and slammed the door shut. Her eyes desperately searched the room for something she could use, a weapon. Her wand still lay on the couch. She pushed a dresser in front of the door. A simple and futile barricade, she knew, but there was nothing else to do. She placed Harry in his crib. The dresser blew from the doorway and smashed against the wall. A long, black shadow appeared in the doorway. Voldemort was there.

His want poised to kill he commanded Lily, "Stand aside, silly girl!!"

Lily spread her arms wide in front of Harry's crib, "No! Please! Not Harry! Take me instead!"

"It is not your life I want, stand aside." Voldemort hissed.

Lily did not relent. She merely stared into Voldemort's cold eyes in defiance. He would not have her son.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" The light pierced Lily's chest and she hit the nursery floor with a sickening thud. Harry began to cry.

Voldemort crossed to room to the crib, he stepped nonchalantly over Lily's corpse. Harry was now wailing as loud as his little lungs would allow him. Voldemort grimaced, how he hated the sound of babies crying.

He pointed his wand, "Avada Kedavra!"

A bright burst of green light erupted from the tip of his wand and hit Harry at point blank range, there was blinding light and then pain. Pain as Voldemort had never felt engulfed his body. It seemed to rip his cells into pieces as though he were exploding from the inside. The house shook on its foundation and rocked in the wind. The light disappeared and all that remained of the house was broken bits of wood and rubble. Harry laid crying in his broken crib, a small trickle of blood issuing from his forehead. The rubble had buried his parents.

A loud rumble ensued from the distance. A large motorbike appeared from the sky and landed hard on the pavement by the destroyed house. Sirius Black jumped off the motorbike and ran into the rubble of the house panicked and crying silent tears. Chaos continued in the rubble as Rubeus Hagrid showed up with orders from Dumbledore, but somewhere far away there was peace. Lily and James were on a train leaving Kings Cross, and they were bound for the stars.

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Please review, I hope you all enjoyed it. I wrote this short story a while back and completely revamped it after reading Deathly Hallows. 


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